1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a commercial system and, more particularly, to a system and method employing a portable card to configure a store for product promotions.
2. Description of Related Art
Product promotions employing price discounts are a popular means to stimulate sales of products such as grocery store items. One type of product promotion is a discount coupon. It has been estimated that in-store couponing coupled with advertising increases sales by 544%.
Product promotion discounts may change over time as certain promotions come into effect or expire. It is important to deploy product promotion discounts accurately, to avoid customer confusion and to limit the liability of the manufacturer or retailer sponsoring the promotion.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved system and method for deploying product promotion discounts.
To achieve this and other objects of the present invention, there is a method for a store and a portable card for storing a plurality of promotions. The method comprises reading from the card at a first location in the store, to process a signal corresponding to a first promotion set stored on the card; and reading from the card at a second location in the store, to process a signal corresponding to a second promotion set stored on the card.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is a method for store and a portable card for storing a plurality of coupons. The method comprises the steps, performed in the store, of reading from the card at a first location in the store, to process a signal corresponding to a first coupon stored on the card; reading from the card at a second location in the store, to process a signal corresponding to a second coupon stored on the card; reading from the card at a third location in the store, to process the first and second coupons stored on the card; and determining an amount due in accordance with a coupon received by a customer in the store and a product selected by the customer.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is a method for store and a portable card for storing a plurality of coupons. The method comprises the steps, performed in the store, of reading from the card at a first location in the store, to display a signal corresponding to a first product promotion stored on the card; reading from the card at a second location in the store, to display a signal corresponding to a second product promotion stored on the card; reading from the card at a third location in the store, to process the first and second product promotions stored on the card; and determining an amount due in accordance with a product promotion readable by a customer in the store and a product selected by the customer.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is a system for a store and a portable card for storing a plurality of promotions. The system comprises a first receiver that receives signals from the card, to process a signal corresponding to a first promotion set stored on the card; a second receiver that receives signals from the card, to process a signal corresponding to a second promotion set stored on the card.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is a system for a store and a portable card for storing a plurality of coupons. The system comprises a first receiver that receives signals from the card, to process a signal corresponding to a first coupon stored on the card; a second receiver that receives signals from the card, to process a signal corresponding to a second coupon stored on the card; a third receiver that receives signals from the card, to process the first and second coupons stored on the card; and a processor that determines an amount due in accordance with a coupon received by a customer in the store and the product selected by the customer.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is a system for a store and a portable card for storing a plurality of coupons. The system comprises a first receiver that receives signals from the card, to display a signal corresponding to a first product promotion stored on the card; a second receiver that receives signals from the card, to display a signal corresponding to a second product promotion stored on the card; a third receiver that receives signals from the card, to process the first and second product promotions stored on the card; and a processor that determines an amount due in accordance with a product promotion readable by a customer in the store and a product selected by the customer.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is a method of operating with a system including a portable card, a card writer, and a store including a plurality of shelves each having a respective interface supported by the shelf, the method comprises writing a plurality of first signals onto the card, each first signal corresponding to a promotion for a product in the store, and the steps, performed for each interface, of writing a second signal onto the card using the card writer; moving the card to the interface; receiving, in the interface, the second signal from the card; and processing, in the interface, a selected first signal from the card, the selected first signal being determined by the second signal.